RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Postoperative ventilatory dependency following thymectomy for myasthenia gravis
JF Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine
JO Cleve Clin J Med
FD Cleveland Clinic
SP 585
OP 589
VO 51
IS 4
A1 Sivak, Edward D.
A1 Mehta, Atul
A1 Hanson, Maurice
A1 Cosgrove, Delos M.
YR 1984
UL http://www.ccjm.org/content/51/4/585.abstract
AB Thymectomy for the treatment of selected patients with myasthenia gravis results in postoperative prolongation of ventilatory support. A retrospective review of 24 patients undergoing the procedure via midline sternotomy revealed that 17 (71%) were weaned from mechanical ventilation within 48 hours. In the remaining patients, chest wall pain and respiratory muscle weakness prolonged ventilatory support to four days while complications of pneumonia in 2 patients and hydropneumothorax in another patient prolonged support beyond four days. Additional observations suggested that choline-esterase inhibitor therapy is necessary to assist in weaning from mechanical ventilation even if this therapy is reduced from preoperative dosages.